Mrs. Robinson and the epilogue.

I'm on an album kick. "It's A Shame About Ray" by The Lemonheads. I know I'm obsessing when the cd has made it upstairs into the bathroom because, Ladies and Gentlemen! that's where the magic happens. By magic I mean hair and makeup, which takes a bit of time because there are three girls in the house and we're lovely ladies who become even lovelier once the album repeats. Anyhoo.

I got the tape when it first came out, partially because I liked the band, but mostly because Evan Dando is omg hot. I listened to it all the time, but it fell out of heavy rotation when my cd collection grew and outnumbered my tapes, and out of mind completely when my tape player broke. (Btw, one of the saddest days of my life.) Not quite a year ago, I was rummaging around the cds at Disc Replay and saw it there. So I repurchased. It's a great album. The songs themselves- the chord progressions- are simple (which is to say that even I, a horrorshow on guitar, can play them) and the vocals are catchy. You can't help but sing along. I actually am, right now. There are some killer lyrics. Little gems like those lines in books that you read and think, "Yes. This."

For instance.
"Slipped my mind that I could use my brain."
"I'm too much with myself, I wanna be someone else."
"She's the puzzle piece behind the couch that made the sky complete."
"We'll repeat the same stories but of course never in front of friends."
"The sidewalk lines gadunk gadunk gadunk gadai."

Okay, that last one looks weird until you realize it's the exact sound of wheels on sidewalk lines (the song's about a baby in a stroller) and then it's pretty freaking cool.

So. This album kicks and I love it. It's loud at times, brash, moody, contemplative, silly, and unexpected and it should end exactly after Frank Mills. Finished, but I wouldn't mind another listen. It did end there originally, but after the huge success of the Mrs. Robinson single the record company decided to re-release the album with MR at the end. WRONG CHOICE FOLKS! It has a totally different feel, it just doesn't fit. I hate it. I literally will run to the cd player to skip the song. And it's unchecked on my itunes so I don't have to run to my computer.

D'you know what Mrs. Robinson reminds me of? An epilogue. Good lord, I hate me an epilogue. It's like an author's personal fan fic for the book they just wrote.

I remember when I read the end of HP7. It was so awesome. And then there was more. I pray that this isn't a SPOILER ALERT for you all, because I'm assuming you've either read the series or have no interest to, but when I read that Ginny and Harry hooked it up and had kids and same with Ron and Hermione, I just about died. I punched the book right in its face, which hurt my knuckles, not gonna lie. For reals, J.K.? Couldn't you have trusted me to imagine it? Couldn't you have trusted your own story to have resolved itself? Did you have to spell it all out? Just like those record execs who didn't believe that "It's A Shame About Ray" could sell itself without the help of a hit, a happy ending.

It's not about the bit of fluff at the end. There should be a feeling of being unresolved. A good story, a good album, should keep me interested after it's over. I should want to understand more, want to go back and see if I caught all the details, wonder what's next. An epilogue tells me that the journey hasn't as much worth as the result.

I don't believe that for a minute.

Listening to: your mom.

xo.kb.